At a time when the Senate seems to have reached new heights of partisan squabbling, Thursday's scheduled vote to end debate on Ben Bernanke's nomination to a second term marks a notable moment of bipartisan communication and cooperation. | REUTERS

Bernanke vote takes twists, turns

At a time when the Senate seems to have reached new heights of partisan squabbling, Thursday’s scheduled vote to end debate on Ben Bernanke’s nomination to a second term marks a notable moment of bipartisan communication and cooperation.

To get to this point, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) had to reach out to his Republican counterpart, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, to ensure there would be enough votes — 60 — to break a bipartisan filibuster against Bernanke.

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Democrats and Republicans coming together to approve a key priority for President Barack Obama certainly is an odd twist on the narrative that’s emerged since the GOP stunner in Massachusetts last week.

“This wasn’t a farm bill,” remarked a Republican leadership aide. “This was a nominee of the president of the United States that up until a week ago was seen as an easy vote.”

Democratic leaders knew early on they would need some Republicans to break a filibuster on the nomination; a few caucus members had made no secret of their opposition to Bernanke's serving a second term as Federal Reserve chairman.

But their need for Republican help took on a new urgency after the Jan. 19 Massachusetts special election and the populist angst it laid bare. Democrats returned to the Senate rattled by voters’ anger and worried about their jobs. They lashed out at the White House economic team as too cozy with Wall Street during a caucus lunch the day after the election.

At the same meeting, about a dozen Democrats raised their hands in an informal count of “no” votes on the nomination.

There was a growing sense that someone’s head needed to roll — and Bernanke’s was the closest on hand.

Amid the new uncertainty about Bernanke’s fate, Reid called McConnell the morning of Jan. 22 to discuss the votes on Bernanke. Reid got off the call feeling “hope that we could get at least half the Republican caucus,” said a Democratic leadership aide.

Reid had played his own part in the drama, releasing a noncommittal statement the night before after a meeting with Bernanke. The idea that the Senate’s top Democrat might vote against the nomination only served to intensify the doubt that Bernanke would survive. The next morning, two more Democrats jumped on the anti-Bernanke bandwagon.